Double ended lockable key holder

ABSTRACT

A double-ended key holder employing a pair of shackles is constructed so that a single locking member may be positioned to lock either one or both of the shackles in closed position.

United States Patent [191 Feinberg [4 1 Mar. 25, 1975 1 DOUBLE ENDED LOCKABLE KEY HOLDER [75] Inventor: Irving Feinberg, Saddle Brook, NJ.

[73] Assignee: Presto Lock Company, Division of Walter Kidde & Company, Inc., Elmwood Park, NJ.

22 Filed: Oct. 10, 1973 21 Appl. NO.I 405,118

[52] US. Cl. 70/459 [51] Int. Cl. A47g 29/10 [58] Field of Search 70/459, 456-458;

24/238, 3 K, 73 HH, 73 HR [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,606,672 11/1926 Stamirowski 24/238 2,307,808 l/1943 Sega] 2,400,424 5/1946 Levesque 2,986,788 6/1961 Hasek Primary E.\'aminerR0bert L. Wolfe Attorney, Agent, or Firm Shapiro and Shapiro [57] ABSTRACT A double-ended key holder employing a pair of shackles is constructed so that a single locking member may be positioned to lock either one or both of the shackles in closed position.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED HARE 519. 5

SHEET 2 BF 2 DOUBLE ENDED LOCKABLE KEY HOLDER The invention relates to lockable key holders of the type including two shackles and is more particularly directed to a double-ended lockable key holder having a construction permitting either one or both of the shackles to be locked in a closed position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Several types of double-ended key holders are known. In one type of double-ended key holder the two shackles are, in fact, opposite end portions of the same movable member. Both ends of the movable member are received by a housing when the movable member is in a central position and both shackles are closed. Therefore, moving one of the shackles outwardly from the housing a particular distance to the open position causes the other shackle to be moved inwardly with respect to the housing by the same amount. This characteristic causes the overall length of the key holder to be unacceptably large because each shackle must be long enough to permit the shackle to be moved inwardly with respect to the housing without being obstructed by the keys on that shackle when the other shackle is moved to its open position.

In a second type of double-ended key holder the shackles are movable independently'of each other. The key holder further includes springs for biasing each of the shackles into its closed position. However, means is not provided for locking either one or both of the shackles into the closed position. Consequently, a shackle may be opened accidentally, for example, by inadvertently applying tension to the housing while a key on the shackle is inserted in a lock, and the loss of one or more keys from the shackle is therefore possible.

In a third type of double-ended key holder, the shackles are movable independently of each other and each shackle has locking means associated with it for locking the shackle in the closed position. This type of key holder suffers from the disadvantage that the housing must be sufficiently large to include two separate or individual locking means.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a double-ended key holder having a single locking means for locking or releasably maintaining either one or both of the shackles in closed position, whereby the overall size of the keyholder may be smaller or more compact than heretofore required for keyholders of this type.

Pursuant to the foregoing primary objective, another objective of the invention is to provide a double-ended lockable key holder of simplified construction, the number of parts being less than heretofore required for keyholders of this type. As a result, the cost of making certain of the parts of the prior art key holders is eliminated. Moreover, as the number of operations to assemble the parts is reduced, a reduction in the cost of making the key holder is realized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A double-ended lockable key holder made in accordance with the invention comprises a housing formed by a top casing and a bottom casing which are connected to provide an internal cavity. A pair of shackles of the usual type, each having a long portion and a short portion, are mounted on the body so that the long portions extend into the internal cavity of the body.

The cross-section of each shackle is of a size sufficient to permit the shackle to receive keys. As usual, each shackle is movable to a closed position and to an open position. The housing is provided with means for receiving the end of the short portion of each shackle when the shackle is in the closed position.

The key holder includes a locking member which is supported by and connected to the housing and movable with respect thereto for locking either one or both of the shackles in the closed position. The locking member comprises a manually operable puller slidably mounted on the outer surface of the housing and a leaf spring attached to the puller. The spring is positioned inside the internal cavity of the housing and is movable with the puller for locking either one or both of the shackles in the closed position. Each shackle is provided with an abutment means, preferably a flange. When the locking member is in a first position, the spring is adapted to engage the flange of only one of the two shackles; in a second position, the spring engages flanges of both shackles; and in a third position, only the flange of the other of the two shackles is engaged by the spring. To facilitate the selective positioning of the locking member in the three positions, detent means are provided. The inner surface of the casing which supports the puller is provided with a plurality of spaced indentations which are selectively contacted by projections on the leaf spring. The housing is provided with stop means to contact the flanges for limiting the movement of the shackles inwardly and outwardly with respect to the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a double-ended lockable key holder made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, transverse, vertical, crosssectional view taken approximately in the plane of line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 except that the top casing and the manually operable puller are omitted, and the leaf spring is in position to lock only one of the shackles;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 except that the puller has been moved to release one of the two shackles;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical, crosssectional view taken approximately in the plane of line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal, vertical, crosssectional view taken approximately in the plane of line 66 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical, crosssectional view taken approximately in the plane of line 77 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, a double-ended lockable key holder made in accordance with the invention essentially comprises a housing A which supports a pair of shackles B1 and B2 and a manually operable locking member C.

The housing A comprises a bottom casing 10 and a top casing I2 suitably connected together. For convenience of manufacture and to minimize the number of parts, it is preferred that the casings be made by die casting. As shown in FIG. 3, the bottom casing 10 is provided with a pair of spaced connecting studs 13 and 16 having recesses 14 and 17, respectively. Studs 13 and 16 project upwardly respectively from the centers of annular recesses and 18 in the bottom casing. Referring to FIG. 6, a vertical cross-sectional view taken through stud 13 illustrates the manner in which the top casing receives the stud 13 for forming a rigid connection between the casings. Although only stud 13 is shown in detail, it will be understood that the stud 16 forms a similar connection with the top casing 12. The top and bottom casings are assembled in the following manner. After the casings have been aligned with respect to one another such that stud 13 extends into recess 19 of the top casing, the casings are forcibly moved together. As annular recess 15 in the bottom casing receives the annular projection 21 of the top casing, central projection 22 of the top casing is forcibly received by the recess 14 in stud 13, flaring out end of stud 13 and thereby providing a rigid connection between the casings.

When connected, the casings provide an internal cavity 24 which is in communication with openings and 32 in one end 36 of thehousing A, and with openings 38 and 40 in the opposite end 42 of the housing A, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Openings 30 and 38 are cylindrical, have equal diameters, and share a common longitudinal axis. Similarly, openings 32 and 40 are cylindrical, have equal diameters, and share a common longitudinal axis.

Preferably, and as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the housing A is substantially in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped, the ends 36 and 42, the sides 44 and 46, and the sides 48 and 50 being substantially rectangular. It will be apparent, however, that the housing may have any desired outer configuration.

The shackles B1 and B2 have the usual J-shape. Shackle Bl comprises a long portion or leg 52 and a short portion or leg 54 parallel to leg 52 and connected thereto by a curved or bent portion 56. Similarly, shackle B2 comprises a long portion or leg 58 and a short portion or leg 60 parallel to leg 58 and connected thereto by a curved or bent portion 62. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the long portion 52 of shackle B1 extends through opening 30 with a small amount of clearance. The long portion extends into the cavity 24. As also shown in FIG. 7, the opening 32 receives the end 64 of the short leg 54 when shackle B1 is in the closed position. In like manner, the long portion 58 of shackle B2 extends through opening 40 with a small amount of clearance and into the cavity 24. The opening 38 receives the end 66 of the short leg 60 when shackle B2 is in the closed position.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the long leg 58 of shackle B2 includes abutment means, preferably in the form of a flanged portion 68, which may engage a stop wall 70 formed on the housing for limiting movement of the shackle inwardly with respect to the housing when the shackle is closed, and which may engage a stop wall 72 of the housing to prevent the shackle from becoming disconnected from the housing when the shackle is moved in opening direction. Similarly, long leg 52 of shackle Bl includes abutment means, also preferably in the form of a flanged portion 74, for engagement with a stop wall 76 of the housing for limiting inward movement of the shackle and which may engage a stop wall 78 of the housing for limiting outward movement of the shackle.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, locking member C comprises a manually operable puller 80, slidably supported by the top casing 12, the puller having a leaf spring 82 affixed thereto and positioned inside the cavity 24. The puller includes an elongated base portion 84 having thereon an upwardly projecting portion 86 adapted to be gripped between the fingers to enable moving the locking member with respect to the housing. On the underside of the base 84 are located flange portions or ribs 88 and 90 which are received by channels 92 and 94 respectively, located on the outer surface of the top casing 12, for guiding the locking member C along the transverse axis of the housing when the locking member is moved with respect thereto. Puller 80 further includes a downwardly projecting portion 96 which extends through a large rectangular opening 98 in the top casing 12 in communication with the cavity 24. Projecting portion 96 includes a connecting stud 100 which is extended through rectangular opening 102 in the spring 82 and is headed over to fixedly attach the spring to the puller. Of course, the leaf spring may be attached to the puller in any other known manner sufficient to effect a rigid connection therebetween.

Referring to FIG. 5, the inner surface of top casing 12 includes a pair of elongated bosses 101 and 103 adjacent opening 98 and extending downward therefrom into cavity 24 toward the upper surface of spring 82 for limiting any wedge upward action which might be applied to the puller. Returning to FIGS. 2 and 4, the leaf spring 82 includes segments 108 and 110 adapted for cooperation with flange 68 of shackle B2 for locking this shackle, and includes segments 112 and 114 adapted for cooperation with flange 74 of shackle B1 for locking that shackle. Leaf spring 82 further includes a first projection or detent 116 which cooperates with indentations 118a, 118!) and 1186 on the inner surface of the top casing and a second projection or detent 120 which cooperates with indentations 122a, 122b, and 1226 on the inner surface of top casing 12 for providing three-position detent action for locking member C.

When the locking member is in the first locking position, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, spring projections 116 and 120 are received by indentations 118a and 122a respectively, thereby positioning puller 80 in the center of the housing A. In this position, spring segments 110 and 112 are removed from possible contact with flanges 68 and 74. However, spring segments 108 and 114 are in positions for abutment by flanges 68 and 74 for preventing movement of the shackles B1 and B2. Thus when locking member C is in the first or central position both shackles B1 and B2 are locked in closed positions.

In the second locking position, shown in FIGS. 3 and I 4, spring projections 116 and 120 are received by indentations 118b and 122b respectively, causing the puller 80 to abut edge 124 of the opening 98 in the top shackle B2 may be moved outwardly from the housing to be opened.

The operation of the locking member in the third locking position is similar to that described above with respect to the second locking position. However, instead of being positioned in the rightmost position, as shown in FIG. 4, the puller is moved to the leftmost position. In this locking position, not shown, spring projections 116 and 120 are received by indentations ll8c and 122C respectively, causing the puller 80 to abut edge 126 of the opening 98 in top casing 12. By this action, segments 108, 112 and 114 of the spring are removed from possible contact with flanges 68 and 74. However, segment 110 is in a position for restricting the movement of shackle B2 by being adapted to contact flange 68 should an attempt be made to move shackle B2 outwardly from the housing. As a result, when locking member C is moved from the first, or central, position to the third position, shackle B2 re mains locked closed and only shackle B1 may be moved outwardly to be opened.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 5, 6 and 7, the bottom casing 10 may be provided with a recessed portion 128 in which indicia, such as name and address information, may be affixed to the housing.

The double-ended lockable key holder of the invention is constructed of a minimum number of parts, there being but five essential parts related to one another to furnish a sturdy construction. Moreover, the top and bottom casings, which are connected to form the housing, preferably are made as die castings to further minimize the number of parts and the number of assembly operations.

It is believed that the advantages and improved results furnished by the double-ended lockable key holder of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing description of a preferred embodiment thereof. Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

' I claim:

1. A device comprising: a housing:

first and second substantially J-shaped shackles slidably supported by the housing and each movable independently of the other in directions parallel to the axes of the legs of the shackles between a closed position and an open position, the shackles being movable in opposite directions from their respective closed positions to reach their respective open positions; and

a manually operable locking member engageable with the shackles connected to the housing and movable with respect thereto for locking either one or both of the shackles in closed position.

2. A key retaining device comprising:

a housing;

a first shackle and second shackle adapted for receiving keys, each of said shackles being slidably supported by the housing and being movable independently of the other between a closed position wherein the shackle coacts with the housing to prevent keys from being removed from or placed on the shackle and an open position wherein keys may be removed from or placed on the shackle; and

a manually operable locking member connected to the housing and movable with respect thereto for locking either one or both of the shackles in the closed position, wherein the locking member is slidably supported by the housing, and wherein said first and second shackles include first and second abutment means, respectively, the locking member being movable to a first locking position for engaging only the first abutment means, to a second locking position for engaging both the first and second abutment means, and to a third locking position for engaging only the second abutment means.

3. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 2, wherein said first and second shackles are movable in directions parallel to the axis of a leg of one of the shackles, and said locking member is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to said axis.

4. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 3, wherein one shackle is movable from the closed position to the open position in a first direction parallel to said axis, and the other shackle is movable from the closed position to the open position in a second direction opposite said first direction.

5. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 2, wherein the locking member includes a puller adapted for being manually slidable with respect to the housing and a leaf spring affixed to the puller for selectively engaging either one or both of the first and second abutment means.

6 A key retaining device as set forth in claim 5, wherein the housing comprises a top casing and a bottom casing, the casings being connected to provide an internal cavity, and one of the casing being formed with an indentation on its inner surface cooperable with a projection on the leaf spring for causing the locking member to be selectively positionable in one of said first, second, and third positions.

7. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 2, wherein the first and second abutment means are first and second flanges, respectively, the housing being adapted for contacting the flanges for limiting to the said open position the movement of the shackles outwardly from the housing.

8. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the locking member is supported for sliding movement in a direction substantially perpendicular to said axes, and wherein said first and second shackles include first and second abutment means, respectively, the locking member being movable to a first locking position for engaging only the first abutment means, to a second locking position for engaging both the first and second abutment means, and to a third locking position for engaging only the second abutment means. 

1. A device comprising: a housing: first and second substantially J-shaped shackles slidably supported by the housing and each movable independently of the other in directions parallel to the axes of the legs of the shackles between a closed position and an open position, the shackles being movable in opposite directions from their respective closed positions to reach their respective open positions; and a manually operable locking member engageable with the shackles connected to the housing and movable with respect thereto for locking either one or both of the shackles in closed position.
 2. A key retaining device comprising: a housing; a first shackle and second shackle adapted for receiving keys, each of said shackles being slidably supported by the housing and being movable independently of the other between a closed position wherein the shackle coacts with the housing to prevent keys from being removed from or placed on the shackle and an open position wherein keys may be removed from or placed on the shackle; and a manually operable locking member connected to the housing and movable with respect thereto for locking either one or both of the shackles in the closed position, wherein the locking member is slidably supported by the housing, and wherein said first and second shackles include first and second abutment means, respectively, the locking member being movable to a first locking position for engaging only the first abutment means, to a second locking position for engaging both the first and second abutment means, and to a third locking position for engaging only the second abutment means.
 3. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 2, wherein said first and second shackles are movable in directions parallel to the axis of a leg of one of the shackles, and said locking member is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to said axis.
 4. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 3, wherein one shackle is movable from the closed position to the open position in a first direction parallel to said axis, and the other shackle is movable from the closed position to the open position in a second direction opposite said first direction.
 5. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 2, wherein the locking member includes a puller adapted for being manually slidable with respect to the housing and a leaf spring affixed to the puller for selectively engaging either one or both of the first and second abutment means.
 6. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 5, wherein the housing comprises a top casing and a bottom casing, the casings being connected to provide an internal cavity, and one of the casing being formed with an indentation on its inner surface cooperable with a projection on the leaf spring for causing the locking member to be selectively positionable in one of said first, second, and third positions.
 7. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 2, wherein the first and second abutment means are first and second flanges, respectively, the housing being adapted for contacting the flanges for limiting to the said open position the movement of the shackles outwardly from the housing.
 8. A key retaining device as set forth in claim 1, wherein the locking member is supported for sliding movement in a direction substantially perpendicular to said axes, and wherein said first and second shackles include first and second abutment means, respectively, the locking member being movable to a first locking position for engaging only the first abutment means, to a second locking position for engaging both the first and second abutment means, and to a third locking position for engaging only the second abutment means. 